Training in Brunswick, GA

Triathlon Forum
1

I have a job offer in Brunswick, Georgia. I have never been there, but judging from the climatological data, it appears to be a training paradise–temperate weather year-round. I found the masters swim coach on the Internet and have exchanged voice mail with him, but it’s not looking like we’re going to have a real conversation in the next coupla days, and I need to respond to this offer by Thursday.

So are there any STers out there who live in Brunswick or the Golden Isles area generally who can tell me about the triathlete community there? A cycling club would be especially important to me, because I don’t feel safe on long rides alone.

Susan

2

Susan, the only person I know close to Brunswick is Robert Preston. He is in Douglas, about 50 miles west of Brunswick.

3

I don’t know anyone specifically but I’ve talked to a number of tri-people from that area. How do you feel about swim training in a coastal river…against an eight knot tide? And running in sugar-sand? Different world on the lowcountry coast.

Call Jim Buser, IMH '88, at 843-815-8281. He’s a bike shop owner in SC who travels to St. Simon alot. Jim will hook you up.

4

I forgot. If you’re going to be there for New Years, check out the Jekyll Island Bluegrass Festival, Dec 29-30-31. Bands are straight from Nashville, it’s a hoot. Wouldn’t miss it.

5

I’m actually about 90 miles west of Brunswick, but I’m fairly familiar with the area. Brunswick is in a pretty triathlon friendly area. It’s less than an hour south of Savannah and less than an hour and a half north of Jacksonville, Fla. There are several races in Savannah, and two different sprint series in Jacksonville, in addition to a nice Oly distance race and an X-terra tri. There are also a number of races up 95 in South Carolina.

The running scene is good, with several top notch races nearby of all distances (from 5K up to marathon). You could find a local running race within an hour of Brunswick just about every weekend. You can also find a few informal and loosely organized bike races in nearby Camden County.

The coastal highways around Brunswick can have heavy traffic, but if you get outside of town, you should be able to find some lightly-traveled rural roads that would make for some good cycling. However, it’s very flat and windy on the coast, so prepare for that. You’re not going to find much in the way of hills at all. I don’t know about a cycling club, but I would be willing to bet there is one of some kind. If not, you can find one south in Camden County or north in Savannah.

I don’t know about the swimming scene, though. There is an ocean, of course, and numerous creeks and rivers that I’m sure you could swim in if you wanted to. And you’ve already touched base with the Masters coach, so you know more than me already.

There are also a few charity rides and multisport events on Jekyll Island. There used to be a sprint tri held there, but I think that has been cancelled.

All in all, I think the Golden Isles area is a good place to live. The weather is great, and there are lots of opportunities for training and racing. It’s almost always windy, and it’s oppressively hot in the summer. But winters are mild and the area is beautiful, especially if you’re wealthy enough to live on St. Simons Island or Sea Island. It’s not an urban area, but it’s not the backwoods, either (though Hickville isn’t far away).

Feel free to PM me with any further questions.

RP

6

GO548, I don’t know whether Robert just happened to see your post or you PM’d him, but thank you either way!

Susan

7

I just happened to see the post when I was lurking around yesterday. Have you accepted the position in Brunswick?

RP

8

Here is a cycling club in Brunswick. Sorry, I couldn’t find a phone number, but I believe Mr. Hill is pretty easy to find.

Brunswick Cyclists
Howard Hill
Rt. 6 Box 323A
Brunswick, GA 30520

RP

9

How do you feel about swim training in a coastal river…against an eight knot tide? And running in sugar-sand?

I think I could like that. :slight_smile: And that area is called “the low country”? I like the the sound of that: “I’m from the low country.”

I accepted the job offer yesterday, and I plan to move in January. I’m starting to get excited about it.

Thanks for Jim’s phone number. I will call him tomorrow.

Susan

10

You’re not going to find much in the way of hills at all.

I’ve been concerned about that. I live in Mississippi right now in an area where there are very few hills, and I bet Brunswick is even flatter. I had planned to do the 6-Gap ride in Atlanta in the fall, but maybe I need to re-think that idea.

I just called Howard Hill about the local cycling scene. He has passed the baton to somebody named Benjy Bluesteen, who owns Benjy’s Bike Shop. I’ll call him tomorrow.

Thanks for the info and for the enthusiastic endorsement of Brunswick. I think this move will turn out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Susan

11

The “lowcountry” is really between Charleston and Savannah. But, the “Golden Isles” area is a pretty kuehl name, too.

12

The 6 Gap ride is pretty ambitious. There some guys that go up from here, so it is possible to train in South Ga and do it.

I hope that your move will truly be “one of the best decisions you ever make.

May I be the first to welcome to you Georgia.

13

I’ve been in Benjy’s Bike Shop before. I don’t remember there being a really top notch bike shop in the Brunswick area, but it’s been about three years since I was over there on cycling-related matters. There are good shops in Savannah, though. The bike shops in Brunswick are decent and you can get the basics there. But if you’re looking for a top of the line shop, you’re going to have to travel an hour or so. Unless things have changed over there.

Regarding the Six Gap, it is indeed an ambitious undertaking. Three of my training partners did the Three Gap 50 in 2004, and they did all of their training in South Georgia. There is also a group in Camden County that does Six Gap every year. They have the same terrain in Camden that you will have in Brunswick. You’ll probably find that some of the Brunswick cyclists would be interested in doing Six Gap. If not, contact the Camden group. You can reach them through the Turn 2 Bike Shop in Kingsland. Terry Landreth is the owner, and he’s a great guy.

And if you would like to travel west a bit for some training, let me know. We’ve got a group over here, and I know some people in Waycross (50 miles west) that will ride as well.

RP

14

My aunt lived in Brunswick for several years. I made quite a few trips to visit. Here’s the deal:

The only hill for miles and miles is the bridge to Sea Island. The surrounding country is dead flat. Weather is temperate from fall through spring - winter is, at worst, a few frosts. Snow is virtually unheard of.

There are quite a few planned-community areas around Brunswick, many of them with private lakes. My aunt’s old house had one behind it, where my uncle would swim every day. That kind of living arrangement shouldn’t be hard to find.

There are three big downsides to Brunswick, as I see it.

  1. It’s hotter than hell in the summer. It can be well over 100 in July and August, with serious humidity. Even though the local football teams will be practicing outdoors, it’s miserable for eveyone who strays from the confines of an airconditioned building or car.
  2. The Hercules plant. Brunswick is home to a massive factory where they turn pine tree stumps into gunpowder. This makes large areas around the plant stink. You can smell it from inside your car whenever you drive through that part of town. I’d hate to ride through it. I’d probably gag.
  3. It’s not the most cultured place on earth. Coming from the south that might not bother you so much, but as a born and bred northerner, it was always a bit disconcerting. Brunswick has Sea Island there, which attracts its share of rich people, but in general you’ll never forget you’re in the deep south.

Conclusion?
Brunswick is a nice enough town, if you don’t mind the south. You can probably find a relatively cheap place to live with a lake in your backyard. You might have your neighbors’ dogs for swimming companions, but everyone’s pretty friendly. Brunswick is one of the few places I can think of where I’d ride a trainer in the middle of summer and outdoors all winter. The beach is nice, except when there are periodic jellyfish invasions, which happen when the currents are wrong, maybe once or twice a summer. I know nothing about the local cycling community, except that in my visits I’m not sure I saw anyone on a bike with slicks. This might have something to do with the large number of highways, which wouldn’t be my choice for rides.

15

In addition to the Hercules plant, there is the big Georgia Pacific paper mill there that also emits a rather foul odor. I forgot about those facilities being there.

As you mentioned, Sea Island and St. Simons are cultured (at least they like to think of themselves as cultured; I have some friends that live there and they certainly have high opinions of themselves), but yes, you’re not going to forget that you’re in the south. But that isn’t such a bad thing.

“It’s hotter than hell in the summer. It can be well over 100 in July and August, with serious humidity. Even though the local football teams will be practicing outdoors, it’s miserable for eveyone who strays from the confines of an airconditioned building or car.” The heat often hangs around until October and November as well. You could swim in open water without a wetsuit fairly comfortably in November if you so desire. The heat can indeed be oppressive. If you do swim in a backyard lake, watch out for alligators. You are in prime alligator country on the coast.

RP

16

I forgot about the GP plant. That stinks too.

My aunt never had problems with alligators, but rather with geese. That’s not to say there might not have been alligators somewhere around, just never in her neighborhood’s man-made lake.

The heat and humidity definitely last a lot longer around Brunswick than in most places. It can be “shorts weather” from March to November some years.

17

It lasts well into the winter. Last weekend, we rode in shorts and short sleeves. I’ve ridden in January and February similarly attired as well. But it’s also subject to be 75 one day and 35 the next day. But that’s all a part of living in the south.

RP

18

You might want to check out Monkey Wrench for a bike shop. Not that much tri, but the nicest guy you could meet. It is on St. Simons about 1/2 mile from Benji’s.

19

3) It’s not the most cultured place on earth. Coming from the south that might not bother you so much, but as a born and bred northerner, it was always a bit disconcerting. Brunswick has Sea Island there, which attracts its share of rich people, but in general you’ll never forget you’re in the deep south.

I take slight offense to that remark, thank you very much. And in regards to the Hercules and Georgia Pacific plants, that was the smell of them printing my pay checks.

Now, if you really want to give her something to hate, and I mean hate, about the east coast of Georgia, tell her about the dreaded sand gnat. I’m not going to because I do not want her to feel she made a mistake in taking the job there.

20

cjw - I had already decided to visit Monkey Wrench, if only because of the name! My relocation packet from the Chamber of Commerce arrived yesterday, and Monkey Wrench was listed in the index under “Bicycles - Sales/Rentals.” My LBS guy suggested American Bicycle Company in Jacksonville when I need something more than just basic maintenance.

I am a little disturbed by what appears NOT to be in Brunswick or the Golden Isles. I checked the Green Directory at the natural foods coop I belong to, and there apparently are no organic food stores or vegan-friendly restaurants in the area.

And I am already feeling wistful about the many happy hours I have spent riding on the Natchez Trace, which is just a 10-minute drive from where I currently live. Surely there will be someplace to ride my bike near Brunswick that will be just as beautiful, only in a different way.

Susan